RMN'S Blog

The Meaning Behind Interview Questions

Date:August 06, 2014

Have you ever been asked a weird or interesting interview question? Interviewers are known for asking a variety of weird, interesting and confusing questions to possible employees for a variety of reasons. Most of the reasons are to find out more about you as a person and as a worker. Here are some interview questions you might be asked and what the interviewer is trying to find out about you from your answers:

What do you expect to do in five years?

They want to see your ambition, goals and career plans. Law firms want to see ambitious attorneys who have strong career goals so you can grow with their firm.

Why should we hire you?

This is a question to check your confidence level. As a lawyer, being a confident person is a much needed quality, especially in the courtroom. They may also be checking to see if you did your homework on their firm. Make sure you do your research!

What are your weaknesses?

This is a question to analyze your self-awareness. If you are able to be aware of your weaknesses, you will be able to address and modify them if they get in the way during work.

Tell me about a time when you lacked the appropriate resources to do your job and how you handled it.

Here the interviewer wants to see that, if they are understaffed, you would you be able to pick up the slack and get a job done. This is a perfect time to give a strong example of your skills as a worker.

Tell me about yourself.

When asked this question, the interviewer is checking your communication skills. “You” are one of the topics you know best, so being able to communicate your qualities and personality, along with presenting yourself well is a great indicator of how well you are able to communicate with a client or coworkers.

What have you been doing since your last position?

If you have been unemployed for a certain amount of time, this question may come up during an interview. The interviewer may want to see if you were involved in any volunteer, contract work or consulting assignments. If you’ve been actively interviewing, you can mention that and you just have not found the right fit for you yet.

Are you interviewing with any other firms?

They want to know if you are worth investing time in or if you will you take another offer. It’s best to be somewhat vague when answering this question, especially if you are beginning your job search. Let him or her know you are beginning your job search if it is early on. If you’ve been searching for a while, tell them you’ve been actively interviewing but have not found the right fit yet.

What book are you currently reading?

Some interviewers may ask this question. They are exploring your intellectual curiosity, interests, hobbies and even if you are in tune with the professional industry.

Many of these questions may seem pointless, but they actually tell the interviewer a lot about you as a person and future employee. Take even the simplest question seriously, and answer them all confidently. Being confident in yourself makes a huge difference when answering interview questions, and the interviewer will be able to tell from this if you are a good fit for their law firm.